What are you reading?

[jerseydevil]

Just finished "Battle Cry of Freedom", by James McPherson. Won the Pulitzer back in the 1980s; excellent overview of the US Civil War. Get the feeling that Ken Burns used this as an outline for his 'Civil War' tv series; a lot of the same quotes.

Funny, I started Shelby Foote's three-volume "The Civil War: A Narrative" this weekend.  I'm at the point where Albert Sidney Johnson's troops are about to launch their attack at Shiloh.

[SAK Guy]

Still working on "The Real Middle Earth" but got an old copy of "Texans, Guns & History" in today....lots of stories about gunfighters and lawmen from Texas history.

[Corwyn]

5 days of sunbathing with no Internet = 4 books read

Inferno - Ellen Datlow 4/10 - anthology of horror stories, some are decent some are terribad
Dune - Frank Herbert 6/10 - a classic, even if doesn't hold up well today... too white/black, too predictable
Ubik - Phillip K Dick 5/10 - overhyped, really felt it was forgettable, compared to his other books - it did give me some nice chuckles though
Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov 7/10 - I thought it was cheap, twisted porn... well, it is twisted and does occasionally border on porn, but it very well written, very smart and captivating  and has amazing descriptions and slights of hand. I gave it an extra point, as despite my hatred of the genre and the idea, it made me finish it in a day.

[VoetSak]

Just finished Triumph of the Sun by Wilbur Smith.

Now I am onto Emotional Intelligence for Dummies.......

 

I regard myself as a work in progress hahahaha

[Wilfried]

One of several books I finished recently was The Sleepwalkers: How Europe went to War in 1914 by Christopher Clark.

Although I strongly disagree with the writer's thesis, Clark is one of the better mainstream historians on the Great War.

Highly recommended except for the sleepwalking hypothesis.

[Wilfried]

About 2 weeks ago I finished ALIVE: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read.

The book was first published in 1974 and is still in print.

xiv + 398 p., ill.

I seldomly read a book which was as gripping as this one.

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On October 13th, 1972, a Uruguayan airplane carrying 45 passengers crashed into the middle of the Andes.  Extensive search and rescue operations were launched and supported by authorities in Uruguay, Chile and Argentina, but after ten days with no results the passengers were presumed dead and the search was called off.  Then, 70 days after the crash, two bearded and emaciated boys appeared in Chile, coming on foot out of the Andes and declaring themselves to be passengers of the lost plane.  A disbelieving world looked on as the boys led rescuers to discover 14 other survivors from the plane who had lived for over two months on the mountain.  Their rescue became an instant media sensation and people from all over the world were aflame to know how they had survived for so long in such a hostile environment.  How could such a thing happen?

They had a small amount of food and wine, and these they rationed severely until rescue would arrive.  But no rescue came, and after ten days they heard the news on the small transistor radio they had found in the plane that the search had been called off.  Desperate, starving, and with no hope of being saved, the survivors made the difficult decision to eat the bodies of the dead in order to stay alive.

You can pick up your own copy for $ 7.99.

[Aloha]

Amazing story of survival and the movie wasn't bad either as I recall. 

[kosmo]

C.G. Jung - The Undiscovered Self

You can find a pdf download of it if you google it by pdf file type.

[SAK Guy]

About 2 weeks ago I finished ALIVE: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read.

The book was first published in 1974 and is still in print.

xiv + 398 p., ill.

I seldomly read a book which was as gripping as this one.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

On October 13th, 1972, a Uruguayan airplane carrying 45 passengers crashed into the middle of the Andes.  Extensive search and rescue operations were launched and supported by authorities in Uruguay, Chile and Argentina, but after ten days with no results the passengers were presumed dead and the search was called off.  Then, 70 days after the crash, two bearded and emaciated boys appeared in Chile, coming on foot out of the Andes and declaring themselves to be passengers of the lost plane.  A disbelieving world looked on as the boys led rescuers to discover 14 other survivors from the plane who had lived for over two months on the mountain.  Their rescue became an instant media sensation and people from all over the world were aflame to know how they had survived for so long in such a hostile environment.  How could such a thing happen?

They had a small amount of food and wine, and these they rationed severely until rescue would arrive.  But no rescue came, and after ten days they heard the news on the small transistor radio they had found in the plane that the search had been called off.  Desperate, starving, and with no hope of being saved, the survivors made the difficult decision to eat the bodies of the dead in order to stay alive.

You can pick up your own copy for $ 7.99.

Read that years ago....it was a great book!   

[Wilfried]

A few months ago I started reading Consolations of the Forest: Alone in a Cabin in the Middle Taiga and finished the book after about five days. It was written by Sylvain Tesson and translated from the French by Linda Coverdale.

xi + 239 p., notes.

  "I'd promised myself that before I turned forty I would live like a hermit deep in the woods.
  I went to spend six months in a Siberian cabin on the shores of Lake Baikal, on the tip of North Cedar Cape. Seventy-five miles from the nearest village, no neighbours, no access roads and every now and then a visit.
  I took along books, cigars and vodka. The rest - space and solitude - was already there.
  Every day I recorded my thoughts in a notebook.
  This is the journal of a hermit's life."

SYLVAIN TESSON


I always dreamt of doing something along similar lines, but it's too late now...   


For I belong to the forests and solitude.

KNUT HAMSUN

Pan

[ToolJoe]

I'm reading Fading Echoes by Mike Sielski. Its about two people from my hometown who both played football in high school for rival schools and both went off to Iraq/Afghanistan to fight and lived similar lives but never met one another.

[kirk13]

Enemy of God,part two of Bernard Cornwall's Warlord trilogy

[magentus]

Rereading the amazing 'Earthsea Quartet' by Ursula Le Guin

[Wilfried]

Rereading the amazing 'Earthsea Quartet' by Ursula Le Guin

I read several of her books during the late seventies and liked them back then.   

[magentus]

Rereading the amazing 'Earthsea Quartet' by Ursula Le Guin

I read several of her books during the late seventies and liked them back then.

They definitely stand the test of time Wilfried - you can see the massive influence these books have had on todays fantasy authors (JK Rowling, Robin Hobb, Patrick Rothfuss to name a few).

 

[Wilfried]

Rereading the amazing 'Earthsea Quartet' by Ursula Le Guin

I read several of her books during the late seventies and liked them back then.

They definitely stand the test of time Wilfried - you can see the massive influence these books have had on todays fantasy authors (JK Rowling, Robin Hobb, Patrick Rothfuss to name a few).

 

Thanks for your opinion on that.   

I suppose there is a good chance that you also read the Riverworld series by P. J. Farmer? I think I'm going to reread those books some time.   

[magentus]

Rereading the amazing 'Earthsea Quartet' by Ursula Le Guin

I read several of her books during the late seventies and liked them back then.

They definitely stand the test of time Wilfried - you can see the massive influence these books have had on todays fantasy authors (JK Rowling, Robin Hobb, Patrick Rothfuss to name a few).

 

Thanks for your opinion on that.   

I suppose there is a good chance that you also read the Riverworld series by P. J. Farmer? I think I'm going to reread those books some time.

I haven't, but if you recommend them I will put them on my list. Cheers   

[Eyegor]

ARMADA- by Ernest Cline
Author's 2nd book. Plot fairly similar to The Last Starfighter with lots of metagaming and nerd sci-fi, gaming, movies, role-playing, etc. type references. Nothing heavy or groundbreaking but a fun read.

[Wilfried]

Rereading the amazing 'Earthsea Quartet' by Ursula Le Guin

I read several of her books during the late seventies and liked them back then.

They definitely stand the test of time Wilfried - you can see the massive influence these books have had on todays fantasy authors (JK Rowling, Robin Hobb, Patrick Rothfuss to name a few).

 

Thanks for your opinion on that.   

I suppose there is a good chance that you also read the Riverworld series by P. J. Farmer? I think I'm going to reread those books some time.

I haven't, but if you recommend them I will put them on my list. Cheers   

I can recommend them, although the series is not to everyone's taste.

You can find more info on Wikipedia by typing in "Philip José Farmer" or also "Riverworld".

By the way: I'm very fond of the Red Dragon Flag of your country!   

[AlephZero]

Looking forward into getting back to Iain M. Banks... Consider Phlebas, Use of Weapons and Player of Games

[magentus]

Looking forward into getting back to Iain M. Banks... Consider Phlebas, Use of Weapons and Player of Games

Fantastic! I cycle through his SF books and William Gibsons on a regular basis. Brilliant fun.

[Wilfried]

About two weeks ago I started reading God's War: A New History of the Crusades by Christopher Tyerman, first published in 2006.

I'm almost half through this massive volume now. It makes for a very interesting read on this highly fascinating subject.

Perhaps I will come back to this book after I've finished it.

xvi + 1024 p., ill., notes, index

[Wilfried]

For the last two months or so, I've started rereading all my Judge Dee novels.

I think it's the fifth time I do this since the late 1970s.

I'll post some more on this series later on.

[jerseydevil]

This weekend I read Go Set a Watchman, the sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird.  Mockingbird is one of my all-time favorite books, but Watchman, quite frankly, is .  There's a reason that Harper Lee didn't submit it for publication 50 years ago.  A quick, easy read, but don't bother.   

[jerseydevil]

I finished In Cold Blood by Truman Capote yesterday.  A classic, great book.  Yes, Capote invented some dialogue, but he interviewed a lot of people for the book, including both men convicted of the murders.  A must read if you're interested in true crime books.   Today I started another classic, Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi.  Never read it before.  I wonder how it ends.....

[magentus]

This weekend I read Go Set a Watchman, the sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird.  Mockingbird is one of my all-time favorite books, but Watchman, quite frankly, is .  There's a reason that Harper Lee didn't submit it for publication 50 years ago.  A quick, easy read, but don't bother.   

Thanks for the mini review JD.  I've steered away from reading this book as its release stinks of greed and cooercion, and Mockingbird is my favourite book ever. I agree that there must have been a reason she didn't publish it, and I hate that others have gone against her wishes just to make money.

'In Cold Blood' is on my reading pile so I'm looking forward to that. I can't believe that 2 of our greatest writers played together as children!

Capotes 'A Christmas Memory' is such a beautifully written short story - have you read it?

[Etherealicer]

I have so many books on my to read list...

Anyway started Solo (a James Bond novel by William Boyd). Its my first non-Fleming Bond and I have to say, so far I like it.

[kirk13]

A Very British Coup by Chris Mullin

And X-Men:Bishops Crossing

[Grathr]

Sent from a device made from star dust using tapatalk

[magentus]

Just finished 'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell' by Susanna Clarke, which I found brilliant.

Just started 'The Jade Throne' by Naomi Novik, the 2nd in the 'Temeraire' series - Napoleonic wars WITH DRAGONS! Very entertaining.